Single in Silicon Valley: Game Theory

Admittedly, I grew up a tomboy.

The youngest of three kids and the only girl with a single mom who worked long hours to support the family. So, when it came to babysitting me after school (this was before the time that after school programs were commonplace), my brothers were on the hook for that.

This also meant that if they wanted to hang with their friends, I either had to tag along or they came to our house. Because of this, instead of playing with Barbie dolls, I played with G.I. Joe, Transformers and Star Wars action figures (don't you dare call them dolls!).

Instead of paying jumprope with the girls, I was sitting on the sidelines of the basketball court watching the boys play. I also developed a mastery of playing Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda and Lakers vs. Celtics video games.

My love of sports and video games came from my upbringing.  A friend, however, recently asked if I used this as a way to meet guys.  We were sitting at the when she asked me this. The conversation progressed to the point where she asked if it were better to know sports or video gaming as a way to impress a guy or at least get his attention.

I responded that if either of those things were "natural" to her, then it surely couldn't hurt. If, on the other hand, you're doing it as just as a dating technique, you may not get the desired outcome. Not all guys are into sports and/or gaming, just as not all women are into romantic chick flicks (including yours truly). I've had guys pretend they followed basketball or hockey, then mess up general terminology. Why risk fumbling a play by pretending to know what you're doing?

We came back to her original question, though: do guys find themselves more attracted to women that share their love of gaming or sports?  I'll leave the answer for any guys who want to chime in.